Garment pressing machine



"Patented Nov. 1s, 1931 faosaisr.rv

United States Hoffman Machinery Corpora-.. tion, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation` of Delay l Ware 13 Claims..

Y invention pertains to garment presses, andr 1 1o `nism which is associated therewith is'ofthedual toggle or' linkage type. y l j The main objectof the inventlonis to provide i a 'simpleandA emcientautomaticlock for the toggl'e mechanism, one whichmay be readily` and' l `easily released by the operator throughmanipulation of a' hand lever, or a foot lever, as the case `xmaybe. f f v `A furtherv object is to so construct the mechaw nism that the elements 'of `the lock'willalways be in contact, thereby precluding the noise of contact o r the hammering of one part upon another. -A still further/object ,isy toprovide a bumper included in thetoggle lever'system which has the function of cushioning` the final locking of the y toggle system'. f Suchj. arrangement ensures a l .1 gradualand jarless, stop, which, in addition to Il relieving the operators foot from kthe common jarring action, also eliminates the thumpv .which inheres'in thefusual toggle `actuated press. `3"` "A press embodying the inventionis disclosed in l the l annexed` drawing, wherein:

; l FigureV 1 is aside elevation vof the press, witha,

` portion of thelside fra'me or base broken away,- and wherein the press head and allledpartsv are "shown in dotted lines whenthe press. is opened; y

lwEig. 2, a vertical sectional viewon thelline (1I-norma 1. .A f.,

1 Insofar as the fralningofA the press' is con- `i0 cerned, it is ofthe vusual and ordinary type, com-, i. prising a base I0 surmounted by the frame proper,v

comprising side elements or plates II vand LI2 and A an upwardly extending arm I3 atthe rear of the frame. The buck, denoted by 1I4,"ls secured upon:

`-iwthe buck support I5. To the upper ,end of the armI3 is pivoted the headI carrying lever I6, carrying at its forward end the head I'lland. atits' freer' having a counterweight- I8.. c ,The pivotal, @point of the. main head carryinglever is .denoted f IibyIlv f l jj The means'for closing the press may be said to `comprise a vprimarytoggle and a secondary toggle.

p The 1forward element of the primary toggle, de-

noted by 2l, iscpreferablyk formed as a single 55" casftlngandfis fulcrumed or pivoted upon a shaft minimi@ ,Aprilia 19,36, seriarNogzalqo I K .ici-ss-ac) 22 supported by the side walls II and I2, as is usual. The rear velement, or link of the primary toggle is denoted generally by 23 and has its forward end bifurcated to receive the rear end of themember 2 I, and these members'are pivotally connected .by a `shaftor elongated pin 24 held against longitudinal movement withreference to the links by cotter pins 2.5` and `2l. (See Fig. 2). n 'Ihe shaft 24, yas will be best seen upon reference to Fig.`2, extends outwardly rto one side or` 10 toward thewallMI'I of the. press frame, and has mounted thereon a roller 2'I held in place by any suitable means, as by a cap lscrew 28. The purpose of this roller will presently appear.` Y Link 23Yat its'rear end isalso bifurcated and l5 engages ak pivot pin 29 which extends `through the 'lower link 3I .ofa secondary or rear toggle, the4 upper link of which is indicated by 32. The pivotal connection between thelupper and the lower i links iswdenoted by 33, and the 'upper end of .thel 20 y link 32 is'pivotallyconnected'to the short arm ofv a. bell crank lever 34 pivotally. mounted as at .35

to thel rear portion of the. head carrying lever' I6.y `'Ifo the` upper end of the upwardly extending armgof the elbow lever 34 there is pivotally con 25 nected anr internally threadedsleeve 30 into whichY is screwed'ra rod 36, the rod extending forwardly and havingv mounted 4thereon a hand wheel31 which, working in conjunction .withv a fixed abutment 38 carried by the head lever I6, fpermitsof` I angular adjustment ofthe bell crank 34 and, consequently, varies the'eiective point of connection of the vsecondary toggle with .the head carrying lever. VThis. adjustment of the point of connection of the rear toggle is the 'same as that set forth in 35 Letters Patent No.,1,939,149, dated December 12, 1933. Normally, the presshead` will be heldin its elevated position, this through the action "of the usual spring denoted by 39 connected at its upper 40 end to the upper'link 32 of the rear toggle as at 4I, and at its lower end `t`to a threaded rod '42, which passes freelythrough the shaft 22, a nut43 being mounted yupon the lower end of the rod.

Byturning thel nut` on oroithe tensionfof the 45` spring can be varied andthe head Il brought into proper balanced relation.y f l. -f i vThe rear link 23as ywill be best seen upon reference to Fig. 1, .is substantially inverted T-l, shape in form, and the upwardly `extending arm thereof, denoted by 44, forms'y a` support for a bumper designedto coact with a pad 45 formed upon the upper end ofthe lower element 3I1of;V the secondary toggle mechanism, orat a pointv adjacent the pivotal point 33. The upper end of the arm 44 is tapped and a threaded rod 46 is mounted therein, that end of the rod which extends toward the pad 45 carrying a cup 41 in which is mounted a rubber bumper- 48. In operation, the bumper comes into contact with the pad 45, as will be hereinafter set forth in detail.

The roller 21, heretofore referred to, forms one element of the press locking or latching mechanism, the other element of which is a pawl or latch designated generally by the numeral 49 and pivoted on a ilxed stud or bolt 56 which is carried on the side wall I I of the machine frame. The element 49 has a latching shoulder` 5| which is normal to a radial line drawn throughV the axis 58 and beyond the shoulder 5I the clement l49 has a tail-like extension 52 which is at least coextensive with the arcuate -path of the roller 21 as it swings with the lever 2| about the pivot 22. The extension 52 is so positioned that it engages the roller 21 as the lever 2i swings, and engagement between these two parts is insured throughl the hand release lever and its associated spring, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

In the particular embodiment shown in Fig. l, with the latch in disengaged position, as shown in dotted lines, the surface of the extension 5I which contacts the roller 21 is a circular arc concentric with the pivot 22. This exact arrangement is not strictly necessary but when adopted the latch does not move as the lever -2I swings from the dotted line position of Fig. 1 toward the full line position of Fig. 1 until just before the fullI line position is reached. The parts are so arranged that lthe primary toggle 2l, 23, never reaches full straightened position, but in the Vfinal position closely approaches this. Just as the toggle reaches the nal position above defined, the roller 21 has risen far enough so that the latching surface 5i can and does enter beneath the roller, thus locking the press in closed position. The important thing in the arrangement described is that the roller holds the latch in disengaged position throughout the swinging movement of the lever 2i and frees the latch to 4move to engaged position just as the press reaches the limit of its closing movement. It follows that the latch is never struck by the roller and silent operation results. ,l

'I'he member 49 is also provided at its upper portion with a iaterallyextending arm 53, the outer end of which is bifurcated (see Fig. 2) and is designed to receive the upper end of a threaded rod 54 which passes freely therethrough. A nut 55 mounted upon the rod bears against the rounded under face of the arm and is designed to rock the arm through the depression of the outer end of a foot lever 56, fulcrumed at 51 and normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by a spring 58. The rod 54 is attached to the inner end of the lever 56 through a suitable member 59. Since the nut 55 affords only one way thrust engagement with the arm 53, the latch can be released without entailing motion of the pedal 56.

As will be readily seen, when the operator steps upon the outer end of the'lever 56, it. will rock the latch 49 and swing it `out of engagement with the roller 21, this assuming that the parts are in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1. In order to release the latch through hand manipulation, there is securedto the arm 53 a rod 6I connected at its upper end to a pivoted bell crank 62 which, in turn, has its other end connected to asecond rod 63, said latter rod extending forwardly over the head I1 where it is attached to a bell crank lever 64y carrying a pad or handle 65. A spring 66 underlies the forward portion of the bell crank lever 64 and acts to rock the parts so that the extension 52 of the latch is normally held in contact with the roller throughout the travel of the latter.

Upon rocking of`the lever 64 by depressing the pad 65 which is carried thereby, the operator through finger manipulation and the connections above described, may rock the latch 49 and withdraw it from locking engagement with the roller` .21, and release the parts in the same manner as if the foot pedal 56 were depressed. By having the upper endof the rod 54 pass freely through the bifurcated end of the arm 53, there is no work imposed upon the operator in the linger release, except that of disengaging the latch from the roller. In other words, the resistance of the spring 58 underlying the foot lever 56 does not have to be overcome. The locking portion of the latch, it will be noted, is located at the pivotal joint of the links of the primary toggle, since at this point the amount 'of pressure requiredto release the latch is the minimum.

Obviously the latch may be disengaged either by the ilnger operated pad 65 or by the foot operated pedal 56 and if only a single control is desired either rnay be omitted. The fact that the n'ger operated release does notentail motion of the foot actuated release is considered a desirable feature.

A study of the relative movements of the points in the lever system will indicate that the roller 21 in moving from unlocked to locked position of the system, travels materially faster than does the pivotal connection 33 of the secondary toggle, that is to say, as .the toggle moves toward straightened position. Y

As will be appreciated upon examination of the drawing, the link 23 of the primary toggle is relatively short and it follows, therefore, that the bumper 48, which occupies a position intermediate the shaft 24 and the pivotal connection 33, will 4also travel at a greater speed than the point 33. Thus, a gradual or pre-stopping occurs between the rubber bumper 48 and the pad 45 upon the. toggle member 3|, cushioning the nal locking action of the lever system and bringing it to what may be termed a jarless stop.

It will be observed that the engagement of the bumper 48 with the pad 45 limits the press closing movement of the linkage and that the buffing reaction is between the relatively fast moving element 23 of the primary toggle and a pad or boss located adjacent the hinge of the slow moving secondary toggle.V The buffer and pad at the moment of engagement move in approximately coincident paths, and at the limit of movement with the bumper in engagement with the pad and under compression the latch engages. It follows that there is no recoil and that the shock of arrestingthe linkage is largely absorbedk within the linkage itself. To whatever extentrit is not so absorbed it Vdevelops a closing tendency of the press head against the goods imposed upon the buck, a reaction which the press is designed to' withstand and absorb. Consequently the press closes and locks silently and positively. bumper 48 is adjusted at 46 with reference to the roller 21 which serves as the keeper for the latch. By adjusting the bumper the point of arrestof the linkage can be determined so that it substantiallycoincides with the point of engagement of the latch.

when the latch is released, the head of the It will be observed that the 59 mary toggle reacts through lsaid buffer lagainst v 2,099,181 ypress I1 will tend to ,swinsopen andduring such opening movement from full line. to dotted ,line

f cam surface formed Iuponthe Atail'- 52 of the latch. l

like extension It will be `understood that when closed and the parts brought, toth siti'on as in Fig. 1, the latchwillhol n until the latter isreleased.` Infot e words, the primary toggle willhave been brough to a pressure exerting position justA short "of being straightened., and cannotfbreak. The pivotal connection or pin `24 of y,theatoggle:is,therefore, held. against downward `movement untill such time as the latch I9 maybev swungclockwise to carry the llocking face Il from beneath the roller;y whereupon, the; spring will be free to draw` the head and itsrelated parts to. thedottedfline position. Y

' sition as the primary toggle approaches straight position; and bulng means interposed between proach straight positions, whereby the buing reaction occurs between moving elementsl of the two toggles, and the resulting shock is substantially absorbed therein.

2. The combination ofa press, comprising relatively movable pressing elements; yactuating means therefor comprising `a secondary toggle arranged to develop the pressing stress between said members as it approaches straightjposition,

andl a faster-moving primary toggle connected to shift the secondary toggle toward straight pocomponents of the respective toggles. Vwhich components, as the two toggles approach straight positions, move in substantially the same direction at unequal speeds, the parts being so arranged that a fast movingcomponent of the pria slower moving component of the secondary toggle to develop a press closing impulse upon the secondary toggle. e

3. 'I'he combination of a press,'comprising relatively movable presslngelements; actuating means therefor comprising `a secondary toggle arranged to develop the'pressing stress between said members as it approaches straight position, and a faster-moving primary toggle connected to shift the secondaryvtoggle toward straight position as the primary toggle approaches straight position; a resilient buffer arranged to be compressed by reiativejmotion of components ofthe respective toggles` as the two' toggles ap-.

proach` straight positions, and .to arrest motion of the toggles slightly before such positionsare reached; and a latch for locking the primary toggle substantially at the point of arrest.

4. The combination definedA in 'claim v3 in which the latch comprises a shiitable pawl having an arcuate tail, and a coacting roller, the rollerA serving to guide the tail of `the pawl throughout the motion of the toggle tothe point of arrest, where it clears the tail andpermits it akeeper. f, f, f I.

5. 'I'he combination of la press. comprising to engage behind the roller `which then serves as relatively movable pressingelements;actuating means therefor comprising k a secondary toggle arranged to develop thepressing stress between said members as `it `approachesstraight position, and a faster-moving primary toggle yconnected Y to shift, the secondary toggle ytoward straight posi tion as the primary toggle approaches straight position; a resilientbuffer arrangedto be compressed by relativemotion of components of the respective toggles astheftwo toggles approach straight positions, and tovarrestmot'ion of the toggles slightly ,before suchV positionsV are,

reached; a latch for locking the primarytoggle substantially atthepoint ofiarrest; and means for effecting a relative adjustment between a component -of the buffer and a component of the latchwherebysaid point of arrest and the point of engagement of the latch'may be coordinated.

6. The combination of a press,` comprising relatively movable pressing elements; .actuating means therefor comprisingA a secondarytogglearranged to develop the pressing stress between said members as it approaches straight position, and a faster-moving primary toggle connected to shift the secondary toggle toward straight position as the primary toggle approaches straight position; a resilient buffer arranged to be compressed by relative motion of components ofthe respective toggles as the two toggles approach straight positions, and to arrest motion of the toggles slightly before such positions are reached;

'a latch for locking the primary toggle substantially at the point of ',arrest; means for effecting a relative adjustment between a component of the bumper anda component of the latch whereby said point oi' arrest and the point of engagement of the latch may be coordinated; and independent adjusting means for varying the press#- ling force developed between the pressing` elements by the secondary toggle at said point of arrest. f

7. In a pressing machine, the combination of a pair of pressing members, one movable relatively to the other; means embodying at least one toggleefor moving the movable element into pressing relation with 'the other; a roller carried by a swinging element of` said toggle and 'adapted to serve as a keeper for a latch; a latch pivoted to a fixed portion ,of the frame, said latch having a shouldered portion adapted to engage behind said roller when `the latch is engaged, said latch having an extension or tail-piecewith which the roller contacts lto determine the release position of the latch when the toggle is broken and is moved toward sor from press closing or opening position; an arm extending laterally from the.

upper portion of the latch; and means associated Lwith said arm for withdrawing the shouldered portion of the latch fromthe roller.

8. In a pressing'machine, the combination of relativelyfmovable pressing elements; power applying means for the movable element, comprising a primary toggle and a secondarytoggle, the

former being pivotally connected to the latter at a point below the pivotal connection of the links of the same; a latch for maintaining the primary lo toggle in its power applying position; and `a t bumper carried by Lsaid primary toggle and con- .tacting the secondary toggle at a point above the pivotal connection of the links of said secondary toggle. s 5

9. Ina pressing machine, the combination of relatively movable pressing elements; means for actuating the movable element, comprising a primary toggle and a secondary toggle and means for actuating the primary toggle; an arm extending upwardly from the link of the primary toggle, which link is lpivotally connected to the rear toggle at a point below the pivotal connection of the links of the secondary toggle; and a bumper carried bythe upwardly extending arm and adapted as the toggles assume press closing posif tion to contact said secondary toggle and arrest any jarring action which might otherwise inhere.

10. A structure as vset forth in claim 9, wherein the bumper is adjustable with reference to the" arm by which it is carried, toward and from the secondary toggle. Y

11. In a pressing machine, the combination of relatively movable pressing elements; a pivoted lever by which the movable pressing element is carried; a toggle mechanism for swinging the lever, comprising a primary and a secondary toggle; and a bumper carried by one of said toggles and adapted as'the parts come to nal pressing position, to contact the other togle.

12. In a pressing machine, the combination of relatively movable pressing elements; means for moving one oi' said elements into contact with the other, said means comprising two interrelated toggles and means for actuating the same; and a bumper mounted uponand movable with one of said toggles and contacting the other toggle when thev parts approach the final pressing position.

13. In a pressing machine, the combination of relatively movable pressing' elements; means for Amoving one of said elements into contact with the other, said means comprising a primary toggle and a secondary toggle and means for actuating the primary toggle, said primary toggle embodying a rear link relatively short as compared to the forward link thereof, and said short link being connected to the secondary toggle at a 20 point below the pivotal connection of the links thereof; and a bumper carried by said short link of the primary toggle.

' WILLIAM STROBRIDGE. 

